The Baltigo Blues
by Nurofen
Summary: Robin arrives on Baltigo and is welcomed to the home of the Revolutionaries. However she is drawn to the mystery of the man behind the door... No pairings. At all. Whatsoever. I don't deal with that stuff. Anything you see in there is just your imagination.
1. The Man Behind The Door

**I made this fanfic because reasons!**  
**It is in no ways connected to my other story, 'Once dead brother of mine'. Therefore, In this little plot bunny, Ace and Sabo never met, sooooo~**  
**oooh! Look a penny!**

* * *

A dry gust of wind fled across Baltigo as the revolutionary's ship pushed itself into the harbor. On the deck, behind a windbreak on a sofa overloaded with cushions and blankets was the pirate Nico Robin, 80,000,000 berri bounty, the archeologist of the scattered strawhat pirates. She had come here to Baltigo to become stronger, ready for when the strawhats met up in two years time to head to new world. She was nervous about meeting her captain's father, Dragon, the leader of the revolutionaries and so called "Worst criminal in the world". She hoped he would be very easy-going like her captain, but she didn't hold much hope for that. Bunny Joe approached her cautiously, well aware she was deep in thought. "Nico Robin-san? We've arrived"

"So this is Baltigo... I didn't expect it to be so barren. But you have more important things to attend to than gardening" She thought back to her little garden on board the Thousand sunny, hoping they would do well over the next two years.

"Dragon-san said that we should give you a tour of the base before going to see him, so you won't get lost quite so easily"

"That is fine, please lead the way, Bunny-kun"

"Of course, this way" He began to move, and made motion for her to follow him. They visited the infirmary,where the doctors were hard at work tending to soldiers, the kitchens, where the cooks were beginning to whip up lunch and the training ground where hundreds of soldiers were being trained in various methods of combat. Eventually they reached the barracks, where many of the men came out of their rooms to see her. She even got a few wolf whistles, which were hurriedly shushed. Bunny Joe knocked on a few doors and introduced her to the various commanders. Eventually they came to a door with the letters ASL sloppily painted on, the paint looked at least 10 years old, and the letters looked like they had been painted by a child. The door also had a beautifully crafted wooden knocker with SABO carved into it. It looked hand made, and she marveled at the craftsmanship. Bunny Joe had spoken with some of the commanders about someone having locked himself in his room. She hadn't heard the name of the person, but she could tell by Bunny Joe's worried glance that this was the one. "That's the chief of staff, Sabo's room. The door is always slightly open when he is in and awake. If it's closed he's likely asleep or not in, we'd best not disturb him if he is sleeping. We'll go to the command center and meet with Dragon-san next" He glanced quickly at the door and she got the message 'We should hurry and go, before something happens'. She was quite curious as to what that something would be, but she followed after Bunny Joe regardless, wondering about the man behind the door.

Once she had been introduced to the eagerly awaiting crew of the command center, she was told to go through the door at the back of the room. She stepped out and a surprisingly cold breeze caught the ends of her coat. Before her stood a man in a green cloak. He was very tall and ruggedly built, His long black hair fluttering slightly in the breeze. "Nico Robin, I presume. It is both an honor and a pleasure to meet you"

"And I may return the same back to you. I have heard many impressive things about your army, but you seem to manage to stay in the shadows yourself. It is good to finally meet the man behind the army" She smiled and shook his proffered hand. She noticed he had a tattoo along the left hand side of his face, and remembered that both Luffy and Garp have scars around that same eye.

"It is a good to have you here on Baltigo-" He stopped his greeting when her gaze grew more serious. "Is something the matter?"

She sighed lightly, allowing a small smile to tug at the corners of her lips "Sorry, but this is only going to be a temporary arrangement. I hope to meet up again with Luffy and the rest of the crew in two years time. However, I will endeavor to support your army over these two years and hopefully grow stronger myself." His shoulder sunk slightly, but he managed to keep a slight smile on his face.

"That should be fine, it will raise the men's morale to no end, having the light of revolution working with them." He paused, taking the time to gauge her reaction. "There is one man on the island that seems to be very upset about the recent happenings in marineford. He is my chief of staff, his name is Sabo. No one seems to know why he is so upset about the war, but they are worried because he doesn't come out of his room for anything, even to eat. I would like you to try and cheer him out of his slump. This should make his subordinates much more at ease."

A bright smile flew across her eyes and a fire lit in her heart, she had been hoping to solve the mystery of the man behind the locked door. "Of course I will, I had been wondering what he is like since I walked past his room earlier" She turned and went back through the control center towards the barracks, a serious look in her eyes.

* * *

By the time she got back to the door, everyone had left to go get lunch and the corridors were empty. Tentatively she lifted the delicately carved knocker and brought it back down to the door three times. "Go away. I don't want anything" A muffled voice called from inside the room.

"Is that Sabo-san?"

"That's a new voice. I am Sabo. Who are you?" She heard him shuffling towards the door as he spoke, his voice becoming clearer as he approached.

"Dragon-san sent me to talk to you" She tried to be deliberately vague, trying to coax him closer.

"I don't need anyone to talk to me, I just want to be alone."

"Now you're just being stubborn." She smiled and put her hands on her hips. "Just like my captain." She added in a quiet voice.

"Captain?" He sounded curious, and she heard him stop as he reached the door.

"Yes, my captain, Luffy." That had caught his attention. She heard a slight gasp from behind the door.

"L-Luffy?" the door creaked open a little, restrained by a small chain. She could see a single eye in the darkness, quietly surveying her

"Do you not know him?" She took off her coat, stowing it under one arm and squeezed the paper that had been in her pocket through the crack in the door. "See, that's him there" She pointed to the picture on the front page, it had picture of luffy standing in marineford offering a silent prayer for those lost in the war.

"Oh, I know him. I know- Knew him well. A long time ago." The eye looked at the paper, almost swimming with sadness. "You are one of his crew, you say?" His voice had a tint of curiosity in it, and no longer sounded quite so defeated.

"Yes I am. May I come in?" She smiled, raising an eyebrow.

"Sorry. It's a bit of a mess right now, you don't really want to come in here right now." The man laughed quietly, and then his stomach growled.

"Well then, how about I get us both some lunch whilst you do some tidying?" It wasn't really a question. She flung her coat back on, leaving it unbuttoned and calmly walked over to the kitchens, a small spring in her step. When she got there, everyone was finishing and going back to their jobs. She slunk through the crowd with very little effort and ended up at a stainless steel counter on the very edge of the room at the end of the long tables. A portly woman was standing behind the counter waving a ladle at her fellow chefs.

"We have to get ready for dinner now! Chop chop! No dilly dallying!" She turned and saw Robin leaning on the counter "Ah, Robin-san! you're a little bit late, almost everything is gone now..."

"Don't worry about it. I came down to see if you had any lunch to spare for Sabo-san" She winked and the woman's jaw fell to the floor

"He wants to eat? It's been to weeks since he ate anything I sent up there!"

"Well, his stomach growled like an untamed lion, so I'll take that as he wants something to eat"

"Of course I can send something up! You go ahead and tell him it'll be up right away."

"It's probably better if I take it up, he's still refusing to talk to people... He just seems a little curious about me, and I'd like to take the opportunity to help him out." She talked as the woman began to collect dish after dish from the left-overs.

"I don't think you'll be able to carry it all, my girl, he eats like a horse!" The woman chortled.

"I know a few men who can probably eat more than him, and plus" She used her devil fruit ability to pick up all the plates the woman had prepared "I have a few helping hands!". She passed the plates to the multitude of hands that had sprouted round her torso, before proceeding to return to Sabo's room.7

* * *

Once she got there, she found the door slightly open and a light shining from it. Everyone had gone about their daily routine, so once again the corridor was empty, bar a few stragglers. She was about to attempt to push the door open with her hip when it was pulled open from the inside "Ah, Robin-san! You're here! Come this way, I cleaned up the table so you can put the plates down". She turned to see a man pulling on a dark blue- almost black- jacket that reached to his knees. He had curly blond hair that was unkempt and falling into random, some slightly longer than other, curls. He had a large burn scar covering the left hand side of his face, reaching up into his hair line and down towards his chin. She looked down, continuing her analysis of him, to his broadly muscled chest, which could be seen beneath his still open jacket, unbuttoned white shirt and untied white neck cloth. He had black trousers tucked into black boots with gold buckles. She placed the plates down on the table and removed her coat, before sitting down in the free chair.

"I hope you're hungry, she prepared rather a lot of food" His stomach growled in response and he began to put away the food at lightning speed. She laughed at how quickly the food was disappearing, and took a sip of the coffee she had asked the chef for as an after thought. He swallowed the last mouthful and wiped his mouth with a handkerchief.

"Sorry. Where are my manners" He laughed heartily and offered a hand across the table. "My name is Sabo. It is a pleasure to meet you" She shook his hand, and a huge smile broke out on his face.

"And my name is Nico Robin, the pleasure is all mine. Though I have to ask why we are introducing ourselves, we already known each other."

"Sorry, My bad" The stupid grin was still slapped across his face. It was strangely familiar... "So, you're a member of Luffy's crew... How do you do it?" The smile relaxed slightly as he lent back in his chair and his head tilted in questioning.

"Do what?"

"Deal with his stupidity of course!" He laughed again "I know what he is like. Headstrong, unthinking, and a magnet for trouble!"

"You know him?"

"He's my little brother!" This time the smile reached his eyes and he was beaming, the scar around his left eye crinkling. Her mouth dropped open slightly. "His... Brother? But how? I know that he and Ace aren't blood related, are you-?"

"No, we're bound together by something stronger than blood!" The remaining smiled dropped from his face, and instantly she realized why he had locked himself away. He had been mourning Ace's death. She looked to the paper she had given him, which was now spread on his bed. _He was probably as relieved as I was to see Luffy alive. _She peered around the room. Two of the walls were plastered with carefully torn newspaper articles. Many of the ones on one wall had the achievements of various revolutionaries. On the other featured two men, whom she recognized as being Luffy and Ace. These articles were more carefully arranged, with larger sections of text. She spotted her own wanted poster among the other strawhats. She didn't realize that he had lent onto the table whilst she looked around in thought.

"What does the _'3D2Y_' on his arm mean? It's not a fashion statement, that's just not like him."

She started when he spoke, but quickly composed herself, a light smile gracing her lips "Ah, that is our promise, and our orders. We had planned to meet up at our ship after three days, but we were spread across the world by Bartelomew Kuma, and then the war happened" She looked back towards her lap chewing her lip a little "It's crossed out to say that we won't meet up after 3 days, as we had originally planned, but instead after 2 years. To give us time to gain the strength needed to survive new world." She looked him in the eye, a fire burning in her soul "We **will **become stronger. so that he never has to go through something like that ever again."

"Good, good! I see why he chose to have you in his crew! Maybe I can go with you to see him in two years time. I wonder what his reaction will be" He gave a nervous chuckle. "It's already been 10 years..."

"10 years since what?" She looked up at him, her confusion written all over her face.

"Since I died and the revolutionaries picked me up." He looked up towards the ceiling in thought.

"You died?" She was morbidly curious now. _Had this man been to hell and back?  
_  
"Not literally." He guffawed, trying desperately trying to contain his amusement at her taking that comment seriously. "10 years ago I set sail from Goa... 10 years ago I was shot down by one of the tenryubitto for interrupting their arrival ceremony... 10 years ago I was assumed dead by everyone on the island, but was actually plucked from the rubble of my ship and brought here to recover from my wounds. I wanted to grow stronger before going back... But before I knew it, I was one of the revolutionaries and 7 years had passed. Ace had set out to sea so I resolved to become even stronger before meeting him. Then Luffy set out and it just kept getting harder and harder for my to pluck up the courage to show them I was still alive... And now here we are. Ace is dead. And I couldn't even let him know I was alive" He drew his knees to his chest, hugging them. Robin got up, walked around an patted him on the shoulder.

"But luffy is still there, isn't he? In just two more years time, you will certainly have built up the courage and strength to tell him 'I'm still alive!'"

"He'll probably punch me." He looked away from her.

"He'll probably bawl his eyes out, then start a party." She tittered, "Now then, we should go see your comrades, they're all worried about you."

He wiped a small tear from the corner of his eye. "Yeah. You're right." He stood up, and put his hand on her shoulder "Thank you. For giving me back my hope."

"It's no problem" She smiled "It was something that Luffy returned to me fairly recently as well, just pass it on to someone else as well eventually, okay?"

He picked up a top hat adorned with a pair of blue goggles. "Thanks, I plan on it." He began to reach for the door, but the handle wobbled slightly before his hand got close "Now, _I wonder who it is._" With his eyes shadowed and a mischievous grin, he had the air of someone that knew _exactly_ who was behind the door, but had to said it anyway for the fun of it. In one swift movement her opened the door and lept back to reveal a pile of revolutionaries who fell on top of each other the moment their support, in other words the door, had been removed.

A young girl with a brown bob and huge eyes, wearing a paperboy cap with goggles in a similar way to Sabo was at the top of the pile. She pushed herself up and a huge grin broke out on her face "Sabo-san! You're back to being, well, you!" She sprung to her feet, hugging him before a word could escape his lips "We were all so worried about you..." She pushed herself away from him and lent sidewise around him, so that Robin could see only her head. "Thank you for returning him to his senses!"

Robin raised her hand, as if to brush away the thanks. "It was the least I could do"

The rest of the motley crew of revolutionaries rose to their feet, each of them wearing some sort of goggles somewhere on their person. Judging by this and their relieved expression, she safely assumed these were the worried subordinates that Dragon had spoke of. They each took their turn to welcome their chief of staff 'Back to the world of the living' and afterwards, thanked her for 'showing him the light'. She chuckled and waited for them to bring him back up to date with the news.

* * *

By the time they had finished filling him in, night had already fallen on the revolutionary base. Looking at the clock, she saw they still an hour before it was time for dinner. She turned back towards the group when it finally fell silent. Then after an uncomfortable few minutes silence, the young girl (who she now knew was called Koala, for one reason or another) spoke up "You know, Sabo-san, if you'd told us, we'd have kept you posted on what was happening. I know you were injured when the world found out about the execution, and I know, you would have gone anyway, and we would have followed, but..." She squirmed under his penetrating gaze, before finally blurting out the end of her sentence "But we all know that it wouldn't have changed anything!". She hung her head as the words rung true with her fellow officers, and Robin released a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. _Koala is right. No matter how much we wished we could have fought, we know we do not hold the power to have changed the outcome._ She raised her head to gauge Sabos reaction, and saw that his gaze was a complex mixture of anger, sorrow and acceptance.

She cleared her throat, in an attempt to break the second awkward silence in as many minutes. "I think-" All the heads in the room snapped towards her, dragging themselves out of their respective whirlpools of thought. "I think that we should go see Dragon-san" She looked at Sabo, who looked back down guiltily "He seemed quite worried." The group murmured their agreement, and rose to their feet.

Sabo was the last to rise, a cold fire burning in his steely gaze. "You're right. I should apologize. And explain as well, I owe him that much." He turned and strode out of the room before any of the others could even blink. They quickly followed after him, their rhythmic footfalls echoing down the empty corridors.

* * *

By the time they'd navigated their way through the winding passage ways, Sabo had disappeared out of sight. In his wake was a trail of Revolutionaries leaning out of their doors with their mouths open._ I guess word doesn't travel as quickly as I thought here. Maybe it's because this has all happened between mealtimes_. Robin was still pondering when they reached the command center, where many of the occupants were hurriedly exchanging money. She giggled when she realized that they were the winnings of multiple bets, many of which were being handed to Terry Gilteo, who was happily leaning back in his chair, puffing on a cigarette whilst counting his winnings. The door at the back of the room swung on it's hinges slightly, and she could swear that if she listened she could hear some sort of crying. She hurriedly maneuvered herself between the rooms occupants and the door, quietly closing it so that the conversation could not be heard. A small smile crept onto her face. _Those boys really don't know how to hide their emotions._

She had read a long report on what happened in the war whilst on the ship to Baltigo. They had included almost every word that could be heard from the den-den mushi, every action that each person in view had made. They had even managed to get some eye-witness accounts from some of the new-world pirates that had taken part in the fight. The detail was so exact and gruesome, that you almost thought you were there. She knew that Sabo would read it eventually, something she noted as being very different to Luffy. Sabo seemed to love to know about everything and everyone. All the revolutionaries that spoke of him seemed genuinely relieved that he was feeling better. But his quest for knowledge seemed even more vast, he had all manner of books stashed around his room, from history to cartography to anatomy. She hadn't seen some of those history books before... _I wonder if he'd let me borrow them..._

After spending a few minutes lost in thought, the door behind her creaked open a crack. "Nico Robin. Would you come out here for a minute?" It was Dragon, his voice low and rumbling like a stampede in the distance. She waited quite a while until she saw sure that no one was watching (They were all caught up in a game of cards) before exiting the room. Sabo was sitting on the balcony ledge, legs swinging in the breeze, staring over the vast plain past the docks and out into the ocean. Dragon was sitting in a small deck chair, quite obviously asleep. She lent on the balcony next to Sabo, her gaze following his to the huge ship with a dragon for a headpiece that was appearing on the horizon. A smile lept to his face as the ship sailed into the port. Without any warning, a hand was placed on her shoulder. "Robin. How about you work in Sabo's unit? He's still short a few men, and you seem to get along well". It was, of course, Dragon, his lids still heavy with sleep.

Sabos eyes lit up in surprise, and then his mouth widened in joy "Really!? I get to work with her!? Thank you!" He turned to Dragon, his face being swallowed in a huge smile. It quickly disappeared when he turned and saw her calculating stare. "If that's alright with you, of course, Robin-san"

She couldn't help but giggle. _He is battling within himself, a wild young boy against a calculated and studious young man. I guess a part of him never grew up._ "Of course I will join you! It sounds like fun!" He literally jumped off the railing and caught her in a bear hug.

"Thank you! I won't let you down!" He stopped, apparently lost in thought. He still held her high in the air in a vice like grip. "Maybe I should put you down though." All three of them laughed as he placed her gently back on the ground. "The others will be happy to hear you're working with us." He paused again, thinking deeply before walking towards the door. "I wonder how much money has changed hands already, and how much more is going to change hands after I tell them you've joined my division..." His arms crossed behind his head whilst he was leaning back and turning towards Robin, one foot in hanging in the air where he had stopped mid-step. "I'll ask Koala later, she likes to keep track of these things. You coming?"

She sighed lightly._ What have I gotten myself into this time? They're so alike, it's hard to believe they aren't related by blood._ "I'll follow you diligently for the next two years. You'll be sick of my company before long."

"I find that hard to believe. Just keep up, okay? Wouldn't want you getting lost" His smile widened further than she thought was possible when the large bell tolled signaling that dinner was ready. "Aw yeah! Just in time for dinner! Let's go!" He stretched up in a victory pose. "We'd better get there before all the good seats are gone! And by good seats, I mean-"

"The ones right next to the kitchen, right?" She walked beside him, opening the door

"Yup! You read my mind!" He jogged through the room, a beaming smile on his face. She walked fast to keep up, jogging around the corners to keep sight of him.

Most of the seats in the corners were taken, but the table on the far side (nearest the kitchen door) was mainly empty. Sabo made a beeline towards the seats at the very end of the table, sliding over the tabletop and taking the seat closest to the door. Most of the people in the room were smiling. The mood in the base seemed to have lightened since they had left Sabo's room. "Take any seat you want, the others usually just sit where there is a space" He was still smiling and humming happily, and she concluded that this was his natural state of being, rather than the serious young man she had met at first." The others burst through the door before clutching their sides or doubling over, trying to catch their breath. One of the men collapsed on the floor, sweat streaming down his face. He was easily the youngest of the group, a boy really, his clothes were still stiff and new and you couldn't see a scratch on him. The boy's name was Dwyn, as she recalled Koala calling him earlier.

He looked at her in disbelief, and began to speak in between his still heavy breaths "How?... How... can... you... keep... up... with... him!?" The looks on the others face, echoed his statement. She elegantly walked around the table and took the seat directly to Sabo's right.

"How... huh. Maybe... " She steeped her fingers, resting her chin on them her eyes narrowed as she considered her question. A small sigh escaped her lips when she realized the conversation had captivated the attention of everyone in the room. She saw Dragon slip into the room, and she closed her eyes. Her next words were little more than a whisper, but they filled the silent room. "Maybe it is because I have been running all my life" She opened her eyes and saw the weight of her words sink in. The young boy slowly made his way towards the table, cautiously sitting on the seat opposite her. He played with the words in his head, taking off his hat and fiddling around with the position of the goggles that sat atop it.

"Well then, you should let us make it so you never have to run away again!" He looked downwards, his cheeks flushing bright red. She smiled, ruffling his hair as the others sat down around them.

"I would love that, but I think it will take a couple of years yet. It isn't easy to topple a well established government. First you should learn their history-" She raised a finger, pointing to him as a school teacher might. The many conversations broke out once again, and she relaxed a little now that their attention wasn't on her. "Once you know that, you know the basis of their rule, an you can worm your way into the cracks. Then-"

Dwyn's eyes shone brightly "Will you teach me the history?" She chuckled. He seemed keen enough to learn but...

"There is one problem with that, though" She had a mischievous glint in her eyes as she lent forward towards him. "Even_ I_ do not know the true history of the world government. I do not know how, or why they formed the alliance of the twenty kingdoms. _That_ is what the government destroyed my home, Ohara, for. They had uncovered much of the true history by deciphering the poneglyphs, which are written in the ancient language, which is now thought of as extinct" The quiet conversation had caught the attention of those sitting around them. Koala was leaning on one hand, and Sabo had crossed his arms on the table and was leaning on them. The others all had their heads turned towards her and were leaning on the table or their knees.

Sabo then spoke up, trying to fill the gap in the conversation. "You can read them, can't you? That's why the government put a bounty on your head at such a young age." The jaws of the group dropped in disbelief.

"I thought it was because you sank six battleships?"

"No, That would have been impossible, for I was only eight at the time. And yes, I can read them. Though, I haven't seen nearly enough of them to even begin to see the whole story. I believe that the Rio poneglyph lies on the final island of the Grand line, in New world. Raftel." A slow smile spread across her lips

"And you plan on going there with Luffy, right?"

_'I knew that question was coming_' was what she thought, but she didn't say it. Instead she said "Yes, though I will be happy to share what knowledge I have. And if you show enough intelligence and drive, I might teach one of you guys to read them too! We could revive a dead language." A small bell rang from the counter beside the door

"Are you guys going to come get food or not!?" A clatter of chairs followed this statement, but their group had the advantage of being right next to it, and they got to the counter first. "Help yourself to as much as you like, there's not likely to be much left after they're done" It was the head chef who had given her the lunch for Sabo. She began piling her plate with the assortment of foods, not taking too much. "Oh, and there is coffee at the end too" She smiled at this. It seems her love for coffee had already been expressed to the chefs by Bunny Joe. She carried her tray to the end and poured herself a large coffee. It was still piping hot, so she wouldn't be able to drink it straight away, but she was pleased by the aroma. She balanced it on the tray and made her way back to her seat, avoiding the jostling crowd of men attempting to get the last pudding.


	2. Diner and a room for one

**You thought I'd leave it at pudding! Ha! Right your tables, fools! I shall eat all your pudding!**  
**There are some OC's in here, but you can't very well expect me to work well with the few revolutionaries we have been given... Well, whatever. ON WITH THE STORY~~~  
**

* * *

When Robin finally wormed her way back to the table, she found Sabo and several of the others had beaten her there. There was a huge mountain of food that was already steadily disappearing. She sighed, wedging herself into the mountain and trying to protect her plate from any wayward hands that would find themselves there. Dwyn poked his head over the heap, a small smirk on his face "You'll have to excuse the two pigs. It's like this EVERY meal time. Just tuck yourself out of the way and protect your plate." A muffled 'Hey! That's cruel!' and a 'That's not how you should speak about your superior officer' could just about be heard from beneath the rapidly crumbling crags.

"Two?" She wondered how there could be yet another person with a black hole for a stomach in the room. _How can the chefs cook enough for the whole army and __**two**__ bottomless pits?_

"Yeah, To my left is Alex. Got a gut larger than your average pantry" A large hand raised above the peaks along with a gruff 'Hey' that was accompanied by a thud and a 'Don't speak with your mouth full!' She raised an eyebrow. They'd soon managed to clear a gap so she could easily speak to Dwyn. The boy took off his hat, gave a small shrug and shook his head. "That was Fran. She's our mother hen, keeps us all in check. And the fishman on your right is Hack." She managed to catch a glimpse of Fran before she took her seat. Hack gave her a polite nod before taking his seat. "And this is Koala. She's Sabo's right hand and the substitute fishman karate instructor. She keeps track of where we all are and what we're doing. Somehow manages to sort all the paperwork in between making sure we are all training hard and that we are all uninjured. Gotta hand it to her, she does a brilliant job"

A hand reached down and ruffled his already messy hair. "You're such a sweet talker Dwyn!" Koala sat down behind the now-almost-non-existent hill in the seat to Dwyn's right. She pointed with her thumb over her shoulder towards the boy. "Dwyn's a bit young to fight with the main forces. He's only fifteen. He manages all our division's weapons and training equipment instead. Does a brilliant job too, give him a sword and it'll come back good as new. He replaces and tightens any loose fittings as well." Her short sentences were in between mouthfuls of food.

"You too Koala, Dwyn! No speaking with your mouths full!" Fran called over the heads of her comrades. The two of them hung their heads and the table fell into a sort of resigned silence whilst everyone ate what remained on their plate. Sabo and Alex finished simultaneously, leaning back on their chairs and belching not only harmoniously, but very very loudly. A wave of laughter washed over the room, and as everyone finished their respective meals, they brought their plates back to the kitchens and then trudged off; either for some well earned sleep or the night shift. And from the conversations she'd overheard, a spot of additional late night training.

Bunny Joe walked over to her once she'd downed the last dregs of her coffee. "Robin-san? If you're done I would like to show you to where you will be staying. If that's alright with you, I mean." He looked nervous, as always. _Maybe he's just worried about doing something wrong. I guess my earlier indecisiveness affected his confidence._ She chuckled when he began to squirm under her penetrating gaze.

"I guess it is about time for me to retire. Lead the way, Bunny-kun!" She stood and began walking after Bunny, but stopped after a few steps. She turned back towards the table and gave a small half-bow to the motley crew. "It was a pleasure eating with you. I hope that it will be just as fun working alongside you." She smiled politely and watched their mouths drop to the floor. Only Sabo was unsurprised, and his seemingly trademark grin made it's way back onto his face. Suppressing a chuckle, she turned and strode out of the room after Bunny.

* * *

Her room was fairly barren, and she didn't have anything to put in it bar the few books that Sabo had lent her. She placed them on the plain bookshelf, sat down on the plain bed and looked around. It was a decent size room, with a thin wooden wardrobe and a small desk with plenty of writing equipment and a small bird's perch. The desk was sat in front of the east facing window, which was framed by pale blue curtains. The bed was a sordid affair: a single pillow and a thin duvet. However, she mused that she wouldn't be in here very often, and as such wouldn't need anything more than that. The- _Her_ room was placed at the very end of the corridor, opposite Koala, next to Fran and near the few other female members of the division. Apparently, most women assigned to this division request to be moved to other divisions, saying 'The men are much to boisterous, and they show discrimination towards me because I am female. I'm a soldier in this army, and I expect to be treated as such!' The boys (for they truly acted like some) assured her that it was just 'them trying to get into a more battle orientated unit' and that they wouldn't try anything with her. A knock sounded on the door and before she could even blink, let alone get up to open it, the door swung open. Sabo strolled in, taking a seat next to her on the bed.

"So, what do you think?" He smiled reassuringly at her.

"I think that bookshelf needs more books. It's rather empty" She scowled at the offending bookshelf. He paused a moment to process her obvious joke before erupting into raucous laughter.

"You're right, I guess. Don't worry, we come across lots of books in our travels." He noticed her confused glance and sighed heavily. "Dragon-san didn't explain it to you, huh. My division specializes in supply and support. We are known for not conforming to the norms of the revolutionaries. We've all suffered personally at the hands of the government; losing someone precious to us, being unable to return home so that our loved ones can't be hurt by them, having no home to go back to at all" He laughed nervously "And most of us were picked up as kids. We had no place to go and we wanted justice... _Revenge_ even. Dragon-san gave us a place to stay and grow stronger, to learn how to fight against their injustice. And we can't ever thank him enough for that. That's why we don't care what everyone else thinks. We don't care if they think we are boisterous, disruptive and useless. We don't care so long as our friends are fighting alongside us, in arms reach, where we can protect them..._ the world,_ from the government." He was sitting, one leg tucked beneath him, whilst hugging the other, his eyes boring a hole in the nearly empty bookshelf. He sighed once again, leaning back against the wall. "What we usually do is support the main troops. We ferry supplies and messages to and from the various battle fields, whilst keeping a vigilant watch on the goings on. Koala likes to document all these for future reference."

He paused, mulling his thoughts over. "There _is_ another, darker, role that we take on... We don't tend to be well known as a division because we take a more stealthy approach; from misdirecting supplies to taking the leaders down from the shadows, all so that it is easier for the main forces to claim a victory. They then get the credit, but most of the commanders know the influence of our division. However, many of the lower ranking soldiers don't know what we do. Heck, most of the normal soldiers would deny the possibility of us doing stealth work!" He smiled at her, sitting forwards.

"And that's why your division is smaller than the others, one mistake and you're dead. Either that or they think you're to fun-loving to take this seriously" She elbowed him and smiled. "I'm glad I got to join this division. It sounds like it is just up my street"

"I guess you're right. I'm glad you're liking it so far. You should get some rest, we've got to get up early in the morning to receive the reports from yesterday and our orders." He motioned to the window. "Don't lock it. We send all our messages by crow, and they don't like being left outside. They're smart enough to find their own way in even if you lock it... Last time I locked it, the shitty bird got in and tore half my hair out! If you leave it unlocked and they'll usually sit on that perch quietly until you wake up. Unless it's important. Then they peck you. And _that's_ not much fun either. You won't get any orders directly here until there is a crow that imprints on you, which is how it'll be able to find you anywhere. Don't ask me how it works, it just does. For now, just stick with either myself or Koala, we can relay any orders to you." He got up and walked to the door, closing it behind him. He quickly re-opened it and stuck his head in again. "Good night!" He said, before closing it again fully and walking down the corridor.

* * *

**Gah! It's so short! I'm sorry! The next one will be longer! I promise!**

**Ah! No! I must not make promises I'm not sure I'll be able to keep!And I figured out how to do breaks! *goes to fix everything else*  
**

**Now I'm not sure where to go with this... Maybe a posting? or maybe crow bonding... Hmmmmm**

**And thank you my lovely Reviewers, Favouriters and Followers! I love hearing your comments! And if you want me to reply to your review, LEAVE YOUR PM's OPEN DAMNIT!**

**I'm looking at you strix.**


	3. Bouncing Blue

As the sun rose and found it's way into Robin's east facing room it was greeted by her already sitting at the desk, borrowed book open in her hands. She had the duvet wrapped around her shoulders and tucked under her arms, to protect her against the biting chill of the early morning breeze which was teasing the ends of her hair. She'd begun reading it not long after Sabo left, finding that she had trouble getting to sleep in her new surroundings. She had only planned on a quick read to settle her, but it wasn't until the sunlight reached her eyes that she realized that she had spent all night reading. _Again._

Back on the Thousand Sunny, it wouldn't be unusual to find her in the galley with a new book and a long forgotten cup of coffee on the table in the early hours of the morning. However, here she would probably have to actually get some sleep if she was going to work efficiently. She sighed, closing the book and placing it on the desk. She leaned back, basking in the sunlight until the morning bell chimed.

Not even a second after the bell had chimed, there was a half dressed Sabo bursting into her room. Robin jumped a little and grabbed the book protectively. "Rooobin~san! Good morning! Let's go get breakfast!" He promptly grabbed her by the arm and stormed out of the room. She stumbled after him in stunned silence as he buttoned up his shirt and pulled on the jacket that had been draped over his arm. As they passed doors, somnolent revolutionaries spilled out into the corridor, pulling on shirts and coats. They all greeted each other cordially, but hurriedly stifled their yawns as the confluence of individuals dragged their feet towards the dining room.

Their group took the same seats as last night, but the rest of the people in the room filled the seats around them quickly, and there was not the sparseness and quietness there was last night. Everyone was laughing and joking and there was a warm buzz in all the conversations. Robin smiled warmly before removing the book that had been held close to her chest during the journey and flicking it open.

* * *

_... Kaienreki 1031 - The rein of the eighth queen of Loca, Alice II begins. The realm is prosperous and few died of starvation this year. The wheat harvest is greater than usual due to the increased rainfall and day length during growth. The battle of Endahar was a total victory, with only two casualties and nineteen major injuries on the side of the Loca.  
Kaienreki 1032 - Chancellor Govad is appointed and the conflict with_...

* * *

"Robin-san?" She looked up from her book to find everyone staring at her. She nearly giggled at the comical scene. Dwyn had leant across the table so that he was directly in front of her, Koala and Fran were leaning around a pile of food and Alex was peeking over the top of it. Hack was looking at her questioningly from her right and Sabo was staring at her with a chicken drumstick hanging from his mouth (god only knows where he got it, they weren't serving _any_ chicken this morning). She smiled at them "Sorry. I was too engrossed in my book. What were you conversing about?"

"I asked if you were going to have anything to eat." She shook her head and was about to go back to her book when a young man came over and placed a cup of coffee on the table next to her.

"Ah. Thank you!" She smiled gently at him, but he just grunted and walked away.

"Gul! Oi! Gul!" Sabo turned and shouted after the young man, but he was ignored. He sighed and turned back towards Robin. "That's Gul. He's our navigator when we get shipped out. Ah-!" He outstretched his arm and a large back crow landed on it. He scratched it under the chin before reaching onto it's back to retrieve his orders. He scanned through the letter, humming occasionally before announcing it to the eagerly awaiting group. "We're to head to the battl€efield at Meridia to take additional ammunition and food. We will receive further orders when we arrive." They all cheered. "We ship out as soon as we're ready, so hurry up!" They all began to scoff the last of their meal whilst Robin sipped on her coffee and returned to her book.

* * *

Half an hour later everyone was back in their rooms packing their stuff for the trip and Robin was sitting on a window ledge at the end of the corridor with yet another cup of coffee and a bag at her feet containing her book and a change of clothes that she had borrowed off Fran. She sipped on her drink and chuckled as Sabo tripped over a box that had been left in the corridor. "GODDAMNIT, HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I TOLD YOU NOT TO LEAVE YOUR SHIT IN THE CORRIDOR!" Muffled apologies and laughter came from several of the open doorways.

One by one the motley crew emerged from their rooms, carrying boxes or suitcases or bags with their essential belongings in. Sabo was the first one ready, wearing a backpack and bouncing with glee.

"Come on, Come on, Come on! Let's go, Let's go, Let's go already!" He cheered, bouncing all over the corridor. He bounced over to random people, encouraging them and expressing his excitement at being out of the base for the first time in 'forever'.

A grumpy Fran knocked his hat off, then bonked the bouncing man on the head with the book she was holding. "Calm down. Not everyone has five thousand calories to burn." He pouted at her whilst her retrieved his hat.

"But Fran~" He whined "I haven't been out in a~ges because of my injuries and then the war. I'm just so excited to be out and about in the world again! Maybe we'll see a giant rabbit that's eating a cloud! Or maybe a bear that's in a boxing match with a kangaroo! Or-! Or-! Or-!"

"Or maybe we'll get be torn limb from limb by sea kings before we even get there." Robin supplied, a dark smile gracing her lips. Sabo stopped mid-bounce and stared at her.

"Well that's... Morbid" He said slowly. Then he grinned, hit by another sudden burst of inspiration. "Maybe it'll swallow us whole, and then we can start a camp fire in it's stomach and steal all the food it's eaten straight from it's gut!" He bounced up, hands in the air as everyone stared on in a mix of fascination and horror.

Koala turned to Robin and whispered to her "Try not to give him ideas. We've had enough heart attacks with just what comes out of his brain. He doesn't need any help."

Robin giggled into her hand. "I apologize. I think the reactions that I get from my crew mates are quite amusing. I find it enjoyable to tease them." She sighed, putting her empty cup of coffee down and picking up her bag. "Still, his reaction was amusing enough for me."

"It _was_ pretty funny." Koala conceded.

The whole group was now gathered in the hallway with their bags, and Sabo lept from where he was being pinned down by Alex. "Everyone ready?" He shouted over the babble. A large cry went up and he grinned broadly. "Alright! Get yer asses into gear and head down to the ship!

* * *

**Author's notes!**

Short chapters are short. I apologize.

Somebody keep me away from thesaurus .com... I keep finding too many superlative words!

_'kaienreki_ means "calendar/age of the sea circle."' apparently. It was the phrasing used in Norland's log book.

Making up names for places is harder than it sounds. Loca is going to be an important place in my OC story (If I ever get around to that part... or posting it at all. Maybe if I get enough love in the reviews in favour of it...) and I got it from Locus (As in the locus of a point), but Meridia... Has no meaning at all.

I have to say, writing childish Sabo is fun. His reactions are similar to mine when I've had very little sleep or caffeine... or sugar... Or combination of all three.

**Thank you to all of my readers and reviewers for the last chapter! Byesey-byes!**


	4. The Morning Tide

**!NOTICE!**  
I know this only applies to a select few people, so I apologize to the majority. However, this needs to be said as it is driving me up the wall.

No matter how much you ask/beg/demand me to put pairings in, whether it be Sabo/Robin, Sabo/Koala, whoever/whoever I would like to inform you _**IT WILL NOT BE HAPPENING!**_ So stop asking! There is a bit in the summary that says specifically that there will be _'No pairings. At all. Whatsoever. I don't deal with that stuff. Anything you see in there is just your imagination_' and I intend to stick to my decision. I find reviews that say such things incredibly annoying and they often make me want to stop writing all together. I enjoy writing this story and do not want to drop it, but I find it very hard to find the inspiration and drive to carry on writing when I get comments which deliberately ask/demand me to go against what I have previously outlined as my limits for the fic.

That being said, I do enjoy constructive criticism as it has been a while since I've done any creative writing and I have only recently started up again. I would like to thank everyone for the lovely reviews that I have gotten (bar the teeny tiny minority that I am referring to above) they give me life and inspiration! I may or may not also squeal happily every time I get one...

Anyway, thank you for your time and for listening to my rambling. Now that I've had my fume, **On with the story!**

Nothing's happening... *Pulls on hair in anger* Gah! I fumed so much I forgot my plan for the chapter! *shot* Let's have a morning that is sorta from Sabo's point of view, seeing as the other chapters were Robin's point of view-ish and I have no ideas left!

Let's try that again! **ON WITH THE STORY!**

* * *

_**BANG!**_

Sabo pushed himself off the floor and rubbed his nose before looking around his cabin. _I really ought to move my bed against the wall_. He thought. _The amount of times I fall out of bed in a trip is beyond comprehension_. He sighed, glancing around the room for a place to move his bed. He looked at the chest of drawers in the corner and gauged the distance from the wall next to it to the desk in the corner. Grinning, he bounced up and grabbed the chest of drawers, moving it in front of the door. He then grabbed the end of the bed and dragged it over towards the gap but ended up frowning at it in displeasure when he found the gap to be a little too small. He scratched his chin and turned the desk so it was against the next wall beneath the port hole. He then dragged the bed around so that it was against the wall but left enough room for him to sit at the desk.

He beamed and went to walk out of the door, only to find his chest of drawers in the way. He glared at the offending piece of furniture before glancing around the room for a place to put it. He picked it up when he found a place and went to put it there...

...And tripped over the end of his newly moved bed. This was the second time he'd managed to end up face first on the floor that morning. He tried to get up, only to find that the chest of drawers had landed on his hands and he was pinned to the floor in such a way that he couldn't use his considerable strength to lift it up. He knit his eyebrows together in thought as he tried to come up with an escape plan.

Luckily his dilemma was solved by Koala and Hack opening his door a minute later.

"Ah! Koala! Hack! You're here! That really helps! Can you help me get up?" Koala peeked around the door to look at him and stifled a giggle.

"I was wondering what all the banging around was. I thought someone was trying to kill you." was Koala's playful rejoinder. She side stepped around the door and sat on his bed, followed quickly by Hack who just stood at the edge of the room and stared at him in a mixture of confusion and awe.

Sabo huffed good naturedly and muttered "Wouldn't be the first time."

Koala laughed and looked around the room. "So what was it you were trying to do in here at three in the morning?"

"I was trying to move my bed against the wall so the chances of me falling out of bed in the morning is reduced by half. So I moved the drawers" he nodded his head towards them "Over to the door so that I could fit the bed over there. I then had to move my desk and I was then trying to move the chest of drawers into that gap there so that I could get outside."

Koala fell into a full blown fit of laughter. "So... You thought you ought to do it at three in the morning... Before you've even gotten dressed?"

Sabo blushed when he noticed he was wearing only a pair of seafoam blue pyjama trousers. "Well, I fell out of bed and then decided that today was the day I finally moved the bloody thing. I may not have been entirely awake when I made the decision to do so." She sniggered at his comment. "Well at least I don't sleep spar with the rookies!" This only served to cause her to burst into an uncontrollable guffaw. He pouted and twisted his head so that he could see Hack.

"Can you help me please, buddy?" The fishman came out of his stunned stupor and picked the chest of drawers up, allowing Sabo to jump to his feet. "Thanks mate!" He took the chest of drawers and placed them in their gap. He then took a step back and nodded in approval. "So! Who's up for an ultra early morning- pre-breakfast work out?"

Koala raised her hands in defence and began to walk towards the door. "Nuh-uh. Not me. I'm going back to bed until a decent time in the morning." Sabo stuck his tongue out at her as she left the room. Hack placed a hand on the pouting man's shoulder.

"Don't worry. I'll train with you." Sabo whooped with joy before pulling some clothes out of the chest of drawers. Hack nodded and then left to get the training equipment out.

* * *

Dawn eventually found the two training together out on deck. Sabo held his metal pipe in his right hand and Hack was in a defensive stance. Neither had anything covering their upper body and they panted heavily, dripping with sweat. Several of the younger revolutionaries were sitting on the railings and watching them intently for anything in their fighting styles they could pick up. Sabo flicked the pipe from hand to hand with a devilish grin on his face. "One more round, then breakfast?" He called. Hack nodded in conformation.

Sabo sprang forward to attack, grin still in place. He swung his pipe at head height and the fishman blocked it, sending it swinging backwards. He planted the pipe solidly in the ground and spun, using the momentum to aim a powerful roundhouse kick for his partner's ribs. It connected, making the fishman fly halfway across the deck before he managed to regain his balance. Sabo was there as he landed, bringing the pipe up towards Hack's chin with his left hand but it was quickly blocked with a downwards cross block. Sabo's grin widened as the fishman brought his hands down and a swift right hook made it's way to the fishman's jaw. He stopped mid strike, half a second before impact, and held the position for a while before they broke apart laughing.

Hack flopped to the deck, gasping for breath. "How... How many is it now?" He looked up at Sabo, who had a hand held out to help the fishman up. He took the hand and was hauled to his feet.

"This year it's... six hundred and ninety three to me and thirty two to you." Sabo grinned as they accepted towels from one of the youngsters. "I think that makes it four thousand three hundred and seventy six to me and one thousand seven hundred and five to you over the past five years"

Hack sighed and shook his head. "You just keep making the gap between us bigger. It's getting annoying how naturally strong you are."

"It's a difficult call as to whether I should be weak because of my heritage or strong because of my upbringing." He stroked his chin as they walked towards the galley. "But I think my upbringing is winning. Which is good, I guess." He pushed open the door with his hip and came face to face with Fran. Well, it was more face to neck because of her towering height, but she leant down to look him in the eye.

"I was about to come get you." She stated, crossing her arms.

"Well we're here now, so there's no need to worry" He went to step around her but was quickly stopped in his tracks. He rolled his eyes as hers narrowed a hairs breadth.

"Would you mind explaining to me why everyone was woken up at three am?" He shrunk back and looked away.

"I was re-arranging the furniture. You've complained about me waking you up by falling out of bed so many times that I thought this should be the final time." He crossed his arms and pouted. "This should reduce the frequency of me falling out of bed by about fifty percent!"

Fran was obviously still not impressed, and showed her displeasure by grabbing him by the ear. "So then you thought it would be a good idea to start training and stop everyone from getting a few more hours sleep, hmm?"

He flailed as he was pulled up onto his tip toes. "Well, uhm, OUCH! I was to hyped up to get back to sleep so I thought I'd burn off my extra energy" She glared at him before letting go.

"I guess we should just be thankful that you didn't raid the kitchens." She huffed, stepping out of the doorway.

Sabo rubbed his ear as slid past her to get his breakfast, muttering darkly all the way. He grabbed his plate and slid into his seat, tearing into a loaf of bread viciously as he continued to glare towards the door.

He finished his meal distractedly and decided to lumber back up to his room to get a shirt on. He mumbled a greeting to a stony faced Robin and a giggling Koala as he passed them, but otherwise ignored everyone he passed them.

As he finally entered his room, a bucket filled with ice cold water dropped on his head. "_**KOALA!**_" He roared. Her giggling could be heard all over the ship all morning, and was only stopped when Sabo eventually found her and promised her an incredible revenge plot. She gulped and ran off, obviously wise to his brand of revenge.

All in all, it was a very normal morning on the revolutionaries ship.

* * *

**Ah! Over 30 favs/follows and over 1000 views! *Squeals in happiness***

Until next time, my lovelies!


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